Nagoya

Antica Roma

Excellent high-class Italian food (like seafood risotto, broccoli pasta or herb-stuffed pork rolls), but also delicious oven-baked pizzas. All this in three superbly furnished rooms. The main room is baroque-style with chandeliers and has not only a live pianist, but also a live opera singer every night (dress code for this room).

Cafe 14:00-16:00 (Terrazza, Pizzeria); dinner 17:30-23:30 (last order 22:30)·The course menus start at ¥4,000, the pizzas at ¥1,500, a half-bottle of house wine is ¥2,500

Café de Metro

Serves up basic curry and donburi dishes, including a decent misokatsu, for ¥480 with coffee/tea, or ¥680 with miso soup and pickles.

Desperados

デスペラードス

Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant and bar operated by Mexican-born and American-raised owner Rudy and his wife Takako. Features a variety of Mexican dishes and a selection of premium tequilas.

Tue-Sat 18:00-00:00 (kitchen closes at 23:00) Closed Sun, Mon

Garden Restaurant Tokugawa-en

ガーデンレストラン徳川園

This eatery serves Japanese-French cuisine with views of the beautiful Tokugawa-en Japanese gardens located next door.

Restaurant: 11:00-14:00 (last order), 17:00-22:30 (last order). Bar & Lounge 10:00-17:00, 19:00-00:00·¥10,000-15,000

Jerry's UNO

It's a nice little taco shop that will run you about ¥500 per taco. They also have a nice selection of international beers.

Yabaton

The place to try another Nagoya specialty - misokatsu, pork cutlet with red miso. The standard set is teppan tonkatsu, and it comes to your table on a sizzling hotplate over a bed of shredded cabbage; then a special person performs the ritual of drowning it in sauce. If you're really hungry, go for the waraji (straw sandals) - a huge portion of pork loin flattened before frying so that it overhangs the plate (sometimes it'll come cut in half, as two cutlets). From the subway station, go under the highway overpass and look for the building with the sumo champion pig stenciled on its side, to your right. This is the head store; there are five more around the city, including two at the Nagoya station.

Closed · opens 11 am·¥1200-1800